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Structure of Cities 2

The document discusses theories of urban structure and classification. It describes Christaller's central place theory which proposes that urban areas develop in a nested hexagonal pattern based on the range and threshold of goods and services. It also summarizes models of internal city structure including the concentric zone model, sector model, and multiple nuclei model. The document provides examples of urban forms in different world regions and notes that Africa is currently urbanizing most rapidly while Europe is already the most urbanized continent.

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113 views

Structure of Cities 2

The document discusses theories of urban structure and classification. It describes Christaller's central place theory which proposes that urban areas develop in a nested hexagonal pattern based on the range and threshold of goods and services. It also summarizes models of internal city structure including the concentric zone model, sector model, and multiple nuclei model. The document provides examples of urban forms in different world regions and notes that Africa is currently urbanizing most rapidly while Europe is already the most urbanized continent.

Uploaded by

SHOAIB
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Location, Pattern, and

Structure of Cities

Ranking Urban Centers: classified by


service offerings (not size)
Hamlet: few services
Village: dozens w/ more specialization
Town: more services & specialization w/ a
hinterland (a.k.a. market area, or
surrounding service area)
City: more specialization, larger hinterland,
greater centrality, has a CBD (central
business district, downtown or core)
Megalopolis where large metropolitan
areas have grown together (Bosnywash,
DFW)

Situation and Site


Situation: position relative to travel routes,
farmlands, manufacturing complexes,
towns, cities (near & distant surroundings);
subject to change: Chicago, Shenzhen
(favorable), Rust Belt (unfavorable)
Site: physical qualities of a place; valley,
coastal plain, plateau, island, Paris (first
established on the Seine River), Singapore
(separation from Malaysia)

Central Places
All urban centers have a certain economic
reach (range) and centrality

When Hong Kong became a Special Economic


Zone in China, Shenzhen became the fastest
growing city in the world.

Central Place Theory


Walter Christaller (1933); wanted to show
how & where urban areas would be
functionally & spatially distributed
Assumptions: flat area, no barriers, even
soil fertility, even distribution of pop. and
purchasing power, uniform trans. network,
constant range of sale
Central goods and services = provided only
at a central place, or city (available to
consumers in a surrounding region)
Threshold min. market needed to keep a
central place in business

Range of sale = max. distance


people will travel for good or
service (economic reach)
Complementary region =
exclusive hinterland w/ a
monopoly
Hexagons logically, the
complementary region would be
circular, but problems arise
(unserved or overlapping areas);
hexagons fit perfectly
Nesting pattern (region-w/inregion); relates to scale

Christallers Hierarchy of
Settlements & Service Areas

John Borchert (1967): analyzed


urbanization in North America (4 epochs);
based on impact of transportation &
communication
1) Sail-Wagon Epoch (1790-1830)
2) Iron Horse Epoch (1830-70); steampowered locomotive
3) Steel-Rail Epoch (1870-1920); full impact
of Ind. Rev., hinterlands expand
4) Auto-Air-Amenity Epoch (1920-70); gaspowered internal combustion engine
5) High Technology Epoch? (1970-); service
& information

Models of Internal City


Structure based on
competition among land
uses

Concentric Zone Model

Ernest Burgess (1920s);


Chicago: 1) CBD, 2) Zone
of transition (res.
deterioration & light ind.),
3) Blue-collar workers, 4)
Middle-class, 5) Suburban
ring
Dynamic: city grows; inner
rings affect outer ones

Chicago in the 1920s

Sector Model

Homer Hoyt (1939);


criticized Burgess Model
as too simple & inaccurate
Growth creates a pieshaped urban structure
Low-rent areas could
extend from the CBD to
the outer edge (3)
The same is true w/ highrent, transportation, and
industry

Multiple Nuclei Model

Chauncy Harris & Edward


Ullman (1945); neither of two
models are accurate
CBD was losing its dominant
position as the nucleus of
the urban area
Separate nuclei become
specialized and
differentiated, not located in
relation to any distance
attribute

Urban Realms Model


Urban realms parts of
giant conurbations; selfsufficient suburban
sectors (focused on their
own independent CBD)
Edge cities (Garreau)
outer realms; third wave:
1) suburbanization after
WWII, 2) malling of US
(moving marketplace to
suburbs in 1960s & 70s), 3)
edge cities (moving jobs to
suburbs in 1980s & 90s)
Edge cities have extensive
office & retail space, few
residential buildings (not
cities 30 years ago)

Urban Realms (and Edge Cities) of Los


Angeles

Global Urbanization

Europe is the most urban


continent, while Africa is
urbanizing most quickly.

Griffin-Ford Model

Combines radial
sectors & conc. zones,
growing rapidly
CBD market & highrise sectors
Commercial spine
extension of CBD;
surrounded by elite res.
Mall = edge city;
suburban node
Zone of Maturity
middle class
In Situ Accretion more
modest housing

Outer-ring = poverty;
dense pop.
Perifrico squatter
settlements; homes
from discarded
materials; unskilled &
impoverished
Disamenity sector
tenement apartment
housing; also extremely
poor; drug lords often
run the show
Gentrification zone
rehabilitation of innercity; historic buildings
may be preserved

Cuzco, Peru

La Paz, Bolivia

SE Asian City; T.G. McGee Model

Hybrid of sectors &


zones, growing rapidly
Old colonial port zone &
commercial district are
citys focus
No formal CBD;
separate clusters: govt
zone, West. comm.
zone (practically a CBD
in itself), alien comm.
zone (mostly Chinese),
and mixed land-use
zone (misc. economic
activities, including
light industry)

Market gardening
zone along
periphery
New industrial park
(estate) farther out
Residential areas
tend to get poorer
away from the port
zone (similar to
Latin-American city)

Singapore

Shanghai

Bangkok

African City; no single model

Traditional city
occurs mainly in
Muslim region
South African cities
are mostly Western
(e.g. Johannesburg)
3 CBDs: 1) colonial
CBD (verticaldevelopment), 2)
Traditional CBD
(single-story, some
trad. architecture),
3) Market zone (openair, commerce by
curbside, or stalls)

Sector and zone


development outside
the CBD(s);
residences tend to
get poorer away from
the CBD(s)
[Strong] ethnic
neighborhoods &
mixed
Manufacturing &
mining zone
Informal satellite
townships squatter
settlements

Lagos, Nigeria

Kinshasa, DRC

30
25
20

1975
2000
2015

15
10
5
0
Tokyo

New
York

Mexico Mumbai Lagos


City

The Worlds Largest Metropolitan Areas

Megacities primarily in LDCs; Mumbai, India; Lagos,


Nigeria; Dhaka, Bang.; Karachi, Pak., Tokyo, Japan
(MDC; 26)
Africa is urbanizing the fastest, followed by S. Asia, E.
Asia, then S. and Cent. America

Many LDCs
lack
enforceable
zoning laws,
residents are
crowded
together into
overpopulated
tenements &
slums

Cities in the Developing World


Squatter settlements & shantytowns
encircling megacities (e.g. Lagos,
Mumbai, Cape Town,) may appear
homogeneous, but have their own
ethnic neighborhoods
City govts lack resources for
adequate education, housing, police,
or medical facilities
Informal economy work not taxed or
calculated by govts (urban
immigrants in shantytowns)
Remittances part of a persons
income sent back home, becomes a
mainstay for those left behind

Urbanization: Pro & Con


Pro:
1)fewer people in rural areas better for forests, soil,
wildlife,,
2)lower family sizes, better education, better health

Con:
1) Hazards of Site outlying areas more susceptible to
landslides, floods, storms, earthquakes,
2) Loss of Land farmland lost (US = 1 million
acres/yr.; China = 3x as much)
3) Changed Land Cover natural landscape becomes
cultural (pavement, buildings,); less rainfall, more
pollutants
4) Impact of Pollution growing volumes of
contaminants (in air, water, and soil); Mexico City,
Delhi, Bangkok are most smog-ridden
5) Production of Waste lack of sewer facilities (>3
million w/o in Mexico City); burning garbage heaps
6) Larger Demand for Water much higher than in rural
areas; riverfront cities create pollution as well
7) Changing Consumption Habits urban dwellers use
more energy, change diets (meat), dress, and
recreation habits

The ratio of urban to rural dwellers is steadily increasing. By 2015


more than half of the world's population will be urban. The number
of people living in mega-citiesthose containing more than 10
million inhabitantswill double to more than 400 million.

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